Miniaturizing consumer electronics will result in higher component density, increased thermal stresses, new requirements for surviving repeated loadings, and a larger need for impact stress survival. In order to meet these requirements, precise knowledge of strains in the PCB and on-board components is a must. The most accurate, swift, and cost-effective manner to detect strains on a PCB is through strain gage measurement, which can also be used in developing loading fixtures and test plans to optimize the testing phase.

Industry trends continue toward the adoption of RoHS compliant assembly technologies, including lead-free soldering techniques. At the same time, next-generation manufacturing processes are calling for thinner board designs and newer laminate material types. Both trends have increased PCB failure risks, due to added potential for over-flexure in the manufacturing process. With many PCB assemblers operating under customer specified strain levels, any over-flexure can lead to interconnection damage, premature field failures and product returns. As a result, manufacturers are increasing supply chain requirements for PCB mechanical stability testing.

Offered in two unique strain gage designations (C5K-XX-S5198-350/33F and C5K-XX-S5198-350/39F), the Micro-Measurements S5198 pattern provides precise strain detection with minimized non-uniform PCA strain gradient effects, along with reliable operation to +200°C. An industry best-in-class resistance specification of 350 Ω, as compared to the 120 Ω typical industry standard, reduces the unwanted self-heating and heat dissipation effects commonly found among substrates with poor heat conductivity, such as PCB’s. A reduced overall footprint, with grid length of just 0.36 millimeters, facilitates ease of target board placement and integration. The S5198 pattern is further supported by pre-attached high-performance Teflon® insulated flexible thin cables, consisting of three twisted wires per grid. The wires are color coded, stripped and tinned for ease of PCB wire routing and connection to data acquisition systems. In addition to PCB testing, the pattern is suitable for ball grid array (BGA) component testing, spherical bend testing, mechanical shock testing, PCB flexures, and in-circuit testing (ICT). The S5198 is RoHS compliant and is utilized in accordance with IPC–JEDEC 9702, IPC–JEDEC 9704, and JEDEC JESD22-B111 standards.